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Best Rhythm Games

Rhythm video games are played while listening to music or a drum beat of some kind. To progress well you have to press buttons and interest in time with the music. Sometimes this is simply to make music in its own right, while at others it's to interact in others ways, often called Rhythm Action.

Many rhythm games include multiplayer modes in which players compete for the highest score or cooperate as a simulated musical ensemble. Along with gamepads, specialised input devices (plastic instruments, dance mats and the like) enable a more creative interaction.

The Rhythm interaction can be combined with all manner of other genres. This adds another later to Platform, Adventure or Shooting games. In these instances, hitting buttons in time with the beat offers additional effects or powered-up attacks. The Rhythm nature of these video games can also add an Active aspect to play. Not only do you find yourself moving your body in time with the beat to get the right timing, but some of these games offer a fully active dance experience where motion and gestures are detected by controllers.

DetailsGenre Details

Era: 1997 - 2023
Total Games: 122
Total Likes: 1,370
 

 

Rainbow Billy

Release Date: 05/10/2021

Out Now: PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One

Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds

Components: 3D Third-Person, Cartoon and Hand-Made

Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan is a role-play adventure where you save the world from colourless darkness. Unusually, battles are won through listening and conversation rather than traditional attacks. It combines the excitement and strategy...

Osu!

Release Date: 16/09/2007, updated in 2021

Out Now: Mac, PC and iOS

Skill Rating: 12+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On

Osu! is a rhythm action game where you tap the screen in time to the music similar to the Elite Beat Agents games. This starts as a simple challenge but develops in speed and complexity. At higher levels, the games is an esport with people competing to...

Goodbye Volcano High

Release Date: 29/08/2023

Out Now: PC, PS4 and PS5

Skill Rating: 12+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On and Cartoon

Goodbye Volcano High is a high school coming-of-age adventure set in a world of anthropomorphic dinosaur characters. You play as band members, non-binary Fang and best friend Trish as they navigate the last days of high school. It's a mix of making...

The Artful Escape

Release Date: 09/09/2021

Out Now: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox X|S

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On and Hand-Made

The Artful Escape is a narrative adventure with running and jumping sections that combine platform action with music-playing. You are Francis Vendetti as he traverses the universe, jamming on his guitar and harmonising with the various bizarre creatures...

Hi-Fi Rush

Release Date: 23/01/2023

Out Now: PC, Xbox One and Xbox X|S

Skill Rating: 9+ year-olds

Components: 3D Third-Person and Cartoon

Hi-Fi Rush is a rhythm fighting game where wannabe rockstar Chai uses the beat to fight an evil corporation. You play by exploring the world and fighting enemies. The twist is that everything moves to the beat, and you must attack in time to do the most...

Sayonara Wild Hearts

Release Date: 19/11/2019

Out Now: Apple TV, Mac, PS4, Switch and iOS

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Components: 3D Third-Person

Sayonara Wild Hearts is a rhythm-action game where you control a running, flying, dancing or motorbike-riding character to collect coins and hearts in time with pop music. The neon visuals and emotively voiced story make this an unusual and compelling...

Thumper

Release Date: 10/10/2016, updated in 2019

Out Now: Android, PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One and iOS

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Components: 3D Third-Person

Thumper is a rhythm game where you guide a beetle-like creature through music track by pressing buttons in time. Unlike other music games, the focus is on impact and combat rather than soaring tunes. It's described by the developer as a rhythm-violence...

Blind Drive

Release Date: 10/03/2021

Out Now: Android, PC and iOS

Skill Rating: 12+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On

Blind Drive is a driving adventure game you play with audio rather than visuals. You are Donnie and are in a scientific study that has got out of control. You find yourself cuffed to the wheel of a car driving blindfolded against traffic. It's tongue in...

Vectronom

Release Date: 29/05/2019

Out Now: Android, Mac, PC, Switch and iOS

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Components: 2D Overhead, Blocks and Grid

Vectronom is a moving and jumping game where you control a block moving through a level that's changing in time with the music. The primary colours and hypnotic beats can distract at first, but as you find the flow of moving in time with the beat a...

Spin Rhythm XD

Release Date: 22/10/2019, updated in 2023

Out Now: PC and Switch

Components: 2D Side-On

Spin Rhythm XD is a music-timing game where you match button presses and stick movement with music indicators on the screen. It's intuitive and fun. Once you get the hang of it it feels like making music.

Let's Catch

Release Date: 15/06/2009

Out Now: Wii and Wii U

Skill Rating: 6+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On

Let's Catch is a rhythm action game on the Wii about catching. It was created by Prope, who made the Sonic the Hedgehog games. You use the Wii Remote controller to motion a catch or a throw to a player in the game. The challenge is to learn how to press...

Geometry Dash

Release Date: 13/08/2013, updated in 2017

Out Now: Amazon Fire, Android, Mac, PC and iOS

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On and Pixels

Geometry Dash is a running, jumping game. It features over 20 stages where you play as a customisable small cube, which you use to dodge 2D obstacles to the rhythm of electronic music using a single button to control the cube. If you hit any of the...

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (Series)

Release Date: 11/11/2020

Out Now: PS4 and Switch

Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds

Components: 2D Overhead and Grid

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is an action-rhythm game. You play through songs from the Kingdom Hearts series of video games by hitting enemies in time with the music with your staff. This makes for a nice blend of rhythm and combat.

Just Dance 2022 (Series)

Release Date: 17/11/2009, updated in 2020

Out Now: Android, PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Web, Wii, Wii U, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One and iOS

Skill Rating: 3+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On

Just Dance 2022 is part of a physically active rhythm game series. Dancing in front of each other isn’t something we often do in families. Just Dance is released with new songs and features each year. It gets parents, carers, children and even...

Just Shapes & Beats

Release Date: 21/06/2018

Out Now: PC, PS4, Stadia and Switch

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On and Pixels

Just Shapes & Beats is a two player rhythm game where you dodge bullets in time with the music. As well as this unusual premise, play extends the novelty as you have to both avoid the various shapes and move to the Beats. It’s a new spin on the shoot...

A Dance of Fire and Ice

Release Date: 25/01/2019

Out Now: Android, PC and iOS

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Components: 2D Overhead and Pixels

A Dance of Fire and Ice is a one-button rhythm game where you control a pair of spheres. You press a button to the beat of the music to progress through the mazes. Each press pivots the direction of motion of the paired spheres to make turns and cross...

PaRappa the Rapper

Release Date: 31/10/1997

Out Now: PS4 and PSP

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On, Cartoon and Hand-Made

PaRappa the Rapper is a bizarre rhythm game where you play a paper-thin rapping dog trying to win the heart of a flower-faced girl. You do this by pressing buttons to rap in time with the music to impress her. It creates a silly yet endearing game about...

Cadence of Hyrule

Release Date: 13/06/2019

Out Now: Switch

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Components: 2D Overhead and Pixels

Cadence of Hyrule is a Zelda-infused version of a popular rhythm-action indie game called Crypt of the NecroDancer. Like the original, you go on an adventure viewed from above and progress by moving, attacking and dodging in time with the music.

Secret Shuffle

Release Date: 08/12/2022

Out Now: Android and iOS

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On

Secret Shuffle is a rhythm game where up to 60 players dance to music and have to try and spot who is listening to the same track as they are. Play combines aspect of Twister and Silent Discos to create a game that's both approachable and fun. It's...

DropMix

Release Date: 05/12/2017

Out Now: Android and iOS

Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On, Board and Cards

DropMix is a fast-paced music-mixing game. You combine loops of well known music from a wide range of genres by placing physical cards on the DropMix peripheral. Each card you place combines with those already in play to create an automatically...

Rhythm Doctor

Release Date: 26/02/2021

Out Now: PC

Components: 2D Side-On and Pixels

Rhythm Doctor is a rhythm game about shocking patients' hearts back in sync with their heartbeats to save their lives. You press a single button on the 7th beat to defibrillate each patient. It sounds simple but each level has a unique illnesses based...

Rez Infinite (Series)

Release Date: 11/01/2002, updated in 2020

Out Now: Android, Oculus, PC, PS2, PS4 and Xbox 360

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Components: 3D First-Person

Rez Infinite is a shooting game where you fire musical energy rather than bullets. As you guide a figure through the darkness of space you bring down enemies in time with the music. Rez is novel for its use of music and vibration feedback to create a...

BPM: Bullets Per Minute

Release Date: 15/09/2020, updated in 2021

Out Now: PC, PS4 and Xbox One

Skill Rating: 12+ year-olds

Components: 3D First-Person

BPM: Bullets Per Minute is a shooting game where shots and attacks must be timed to the beat of the music. The gameplay is focused on motion and shooting, like the Doom games, only here you can only shoot, dodge and reload on the beat. It's repetitive...

Monomals

Release Date: 01/11/2019, updated in 2023

Out Now: Apple TV, Mac and iOS

Skill Rating: 9+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On

Monomals is a game about fishing and music. You drop your line into the water, catch a fish and make music along the way. There are different animal DJs to choose from, each with a different sound and 21 different underwater courses to fish in.

Patapon (Series)

Release Date: 22/02/2008

Out Now: PC, PS Vita, PS4, PS5 and PSP

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On and Hand-Made

Patapon and its sequels take rhythmic button-pressing in a real-time battle direction. You assemble a stylised army and then take your troops to battle by tapping buttons in time with the rhythm. How well you press the buttons in time with the music...

Sequence Storm

Release Date: 21/12/2018

Out Now: PC

Components: 3D First-Person

Sequence Storm is a rhythm game where you press buttons in time with the music to score points. It sounds simple but similar to games like Guitar Hero, it soon gets more complex. Unusually the rhythm play has a futuristic racing story.

Evergreen Blues

Release Date: 20/02/2020

Out Now: Mac and PC

Components: 2D Side-On

Evergreen Blues is a rhythm narrative game where you and a friend build lyrics to a song in real time. You select the words and timing and the game puts them together into lines of a song. What's unexpected and unusual about the game is that the songs...

Guitar Hero (Series)

Release Date: 08/11/2005, updated in 2015

Out Now: Apple TV, DS, Mac, PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One and iOS

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Components: 2D Overhead and Grid

Guitar Hero is a series of rhythm games where you tap buttons in time to all sorts of songs using plastic instrument-shaped controllers. In the latest game, Guitar Hero Live, you play along to real-life recorded performances filmed from the lead...

Rhythm Paradise

Release Date: 31/07/2008, updated in 2016

Out Now: 3DS and 2DS, DS, GBA, Wii and Wii U

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On and Cartoon

Rhythm Paradise (also known as Rhythm Heaven, Rhythm World and Rhythm Tengoku) is a Japanese rhythm game where you perform everyday action in time with a musical beat.

Rhythm Thief and The Emperor's Treasure

Release Date: 05/04/2012

Out Now: 3DS and 2DS and iOS

Components: 2D Side-On and Cartoon

Rhythm Thief and The Emperor's Treasure is a narrative rhythm game told with cartoons interwoven with rhythm-action challenges. You play an 18-year-old boy with a secret identity as an art thief. He’s searching for his father and, in order to find...

A Musical Story

Release Date: 02/03/2022

Out Now: Android, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox X|S and iOS

Skill Rating: 12+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On

A Musical Story is a rhythm game where you are a young man in the 70s coming to terms with ending up critically ill in hospital. Through flashbacks and playing along in time with the music, you discover how he got there.

Aaero

Release Date: 11/04/2017, updated in 2018

Out Now: PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Components: 3D First-Person

Aaero is a rhythm game where you control a spacecraft with one stick and target with the other. At times it's like flying an X-Wing on a trench run while at others it's like soaring high and free targeting enemies in a Starfox game. It's an on-rails...

Hexagroove: Tactical DJ

Release Date: 28/08/2020

Out Now: Mac, PC, Switch and Xbox One

Components: 2D Side-On

Hexagroove: Tactical DJ is a rhythm game where you mix music using an intuitive and tactical control system. Each level sets goals for you to combine musical loops in real-time. Success is not just a matter of matching instructions but creating...

Lumines

Release Date: 01/01/2004, updated in 2018

Out Now: Android, PC, PS3, PS4, PSP, Switch, Xbox One and iOS

Components: 2D Side-On

Lumines is a music puzzle game where you rotate and align small blocks to form squares of a single colour. As you do this, in time with the music, they are erased as the beat line passes over them. The game is lost when the blocks reach the top of the...

Rock Band 4 (Series)

Release Date: 06/10/2015, updated in 2017

Out Now: PS4 and Xbox One

Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds

Components: 2D Overhead and Grid

Rock Band 4 is a music rhythm game. Play along with licensed music using specially made plastic controllers acting as guitars, drum kits and microphones. The game comes with 65 songs spanning the 1960's to 2010's. The music appears as coloured blocks...

Beat! Talk!

Release Date: 11/11/2021

Out Now: Switch

Components: 2D Side-On

Beat! Talk! is a rhythm game where you press buttons while speaking out loud to learn the syncopation and tempo of speaking English, with supported languages being Japanese, Korean and Chinese. As if that wasn't unusual enough, in the game you are...

Chime (Series)

Release Date: 03/02/2010, updated in 2019

Out Now: Mac, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360 and Xbox One

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On

Chime is a block-dropping music puzzle game where you control a single shape to move, rotate, and then place it onto a grid. A beat line moves across the grid in time with the music, setting off events when it hits placed shapes.

Elite Beat Agents

Release Date: 13/07/2007

Out Now: DS

Skill Rating: 6+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On and Hand-Made

Elite Beat Agents is a simple rhythm game that requires you to tap the screen in time with the music to advance a story. Each song matches the pictorial narrative that intersperses each verse: getting a pregnant woman to the hospital; materialising a...

Eloh

Release Date: 11/10/2018

Out Now: Android and iOS

Components: 2D Side-On

Eloh is a puzzle game with an unusual dual focus. You may start playing to solve the puzzles, but it soon draws you in to appreciate and take time over the rhythms you create in doing so. It creates a low pressure puzzle with a meditative feel.

Everybody's Golf (Series)

Release Date: 17/07/1997, updated in 2021

Out Now: PS Vita, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP and iPhone, iPad

Skill Rating: 9+ year-olds

Components: 3D Third-Person

Everybody's Golf is a series of golf games that create a detailed, gentle electronic version of the game. Although there are cartoon characters the focus is on realism and positive encouragement as you make your way around the various courses. The...

Taming Gaming Book Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.

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